August 6, 2017
The law is good if one uses it properly. 1 Timothy 1:8 (NIV)
Paul affirms that the Christian is no longer under the law.
- Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Rom. 6:14).
- Christ is the end of the law (1 Tim. 10:4).
- Some were teaching that Christians should be circumcised, and Paul said to them: You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (Gal. 5:4).
The law has no power over us. We are not under the law. We are under grace (Rom. 6:14). But the law is still important because:
- God’s law is good
Paul says, “All Scripture is God-breathed…” (that includes the law) “and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). - God’s law remains
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mat. 5:20). Christ calls us to go beyond the law. - God’s law is written on our hearts
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Jer. 31:33, Ezek. 36:27). - God’s law is meant to be lived out
Paul says that Christ died, “in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4).
There are two common errors: First, that “Christians are still subject to God’s law,” and second, that “Christians can forget God’s law.”
Which reason do you find most compelling? Why?